A Systems-Level Understanding of Genomics and Proteomics in Yeast

Systems Biology arose as a logical consequence of the information gained from genomics and proteomics. With a fairly comprehensive catalogue of the building blocks of life at hand, the next pertinent question was how these building blocks interact on a global scale.

The DynamiX team actively develops and applies state-of-the-art microfluidic technology, which allows biologists to perform experiments with unprecedented scale and accuracy. The technology development, the basic biology, and the vastness of the data pipeline means that a diverse team of researchers is required to tackle such a project. DynamiX brings together biologists, computational biologists, bioinformaticians, physicists and bioengineers to provide the necessary breadth of knowledge.

Bakers' yeast as a study object

DynamiX aims to understand how proteins interact amongst themselves and with DNA by studying the model organism S. cerevisiae (bakers' yeast). Yeast is a relatively simple eukaryotic organism that contains a modest number of DNA bases, genes and proteins. Despite its "simplicity", many functional mechanisms such as cell division, recombination, replication, metabolism and epigenetics are conserved between yeast and higher organisms. So far, these processes have almost exclusively been measured in isolation.

Dynamix – everything in flow 

DynamiX aims to measure the entire protein repertoire and its dynamics in vivo to understand the important parameters that allow complex networks to function robustly. In addition, DynamiX is interested in developing models that will allow us to predict when, and to what level, any given protein is being expressed in yeast. Obviously these tasks are quite complex and can only be achieved through the development of new technologies.

Updated September 2012